Archives: Board Members

Deric Gilliard is a career communications professional who is adept at strategic planning and the execution of communication strategies that promote organizational messaging and branding. Key policies issues within his portfolio include the ACA, maternal health, workforce development, HIV/AIDS, SUDS, Medicaid expansion, healthcare access, COVID, diversity and the Cares Act.

Deric is proficient in communicating and working with a broad range of audiences that include intergovernmental, affinity, faith-based, business, tribal and community-based settings. He confidently represented executive management with a broad range of governmental partners and other key non-governmental stakeholders to ensure clear communication of priorities and objectives. Deric’s experience includes 25 years in governmental relations, five years in higher education, 10 years in media and five as an entrepreneur. He also served as HHS representative regarding policy changes and updates for numerous state-wide coalitions.

Deric served as HHS Region IV representative for White House calls with states in 2022.
Also, he served as HHS Regional Director’s representative for Federal Executive Board’s Policy and
Steering Committee for 12 years.

Deric has been married to Rev. Dr. Catherine Gilliard since 1979. They have three adult children, Adam,
Dominique and Veronica, and live in Stone Mountain

Berneta L. Haynes is an attorney at National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), where she focuses on consumer energy policy and medical debt. At NCLC, she recently authored The Racial Health and Wealth Gap: Impact of Medical Debt on Black Families, Air-Source Heat Pumps: Protecting the Financial Well-being of Low-Income Families While Addressing Climate Change, and Tariff-based On-Bill Financing: Assessing the Risks for Low-Income Consumers. Before joining NCLC, she served as a director at Georgia Watch, a state-based consumer advocacy organization in Atlanta, where she worked to make energy programs, quality healthcare, financial protection, and civil justice more equitable and accessible for all.

At Georgia Watch, she led coalitions, facilitated forums, steered the passage of crucial medical billing legislation, and authored consumer-facing educational materials (such as the Georgia Consumer Guide for Medical Bills and Debt) and policy guides on energy equity (including Keeping the Lights On and EMCs and Energy Equity: Harnessing Your Power), financial protection, and healthcare billing. Previously, she practiced law at Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago and Southern Environmental Law Center, where she authored Solar for All and other policy papers.

She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English, Writing, and Psychology from Drury University, her Master’s degree in English from University of Iowa, and her law degree from University of Iowa College of Law.

Abeni serves as the Director Physician Revenue Cycle at Grady Health System, Atlanta’s only Level 1 trauma center. With a career that extends over two decades in healthcare management and a deep-rooted focus on the Revenue Cycle. Abeni’s expertise shines through her dedication to compliance, physician engagement, technology, performance improvement, project management, and a nuanced understanding of healthcare policy.

Her leadership acumen is further exemplified by her successful stewardship of two large Atlanta healthcare revenue cycle integrations. These integrations ensured adherence to regulatory compliance with billing standards while aligning with operational, quality, and strategic imperatives of both institutions, ensuring a balanced alignment of processes and policies.

Abeni’s educational journey includes a Bachelor of Science in Community Health Education from Clark Atlanta University and a Master of Science in Health Service Administration from Central Michigan University.

She’s convinced that tackling healthcare disparities will eventually lead to the inclusion of comprehensive policies.

Christine J. Wiggins is a public health practitioner with more than 16 years of experience in strategic planning, implementing, and facilitating community, statewide and national programs. Christine began her career working with a community-serving organization, moved to hospital administration, and eventually transitioned into public service, at both the federal and state levels. With a passion for strengthening and educating minority communities, Christine has done an extensive amount of work around partnership development and collaboration, as well as addressing health issues from an equity lens. Currently, she is the Vice President for Community Health Systems for The-Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority (FDHA). In this role, Christine is responsible for leading The FDHA’s efforts to strengthen the healthcare ecosystem in Fulton and DeKalb counties, close access and service gaps and, develop innovative strategies for improving overall health outcomes for county residents.

Prior to joining The FDHA, Christine served as a Deputy Director for the Georgia Department of Public Health, Chronic Disease Prevention Section for 6 years. During her time at DPH, she managed several program areas, as well as led and championed state efforts to develop a standardized community health worker (CHW) training and certification program. Christine also had the privilege of serving as the Health Disparities Initiatives Director for the Maryland Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities (MHHD) and a Community Outreach Advisor for the HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH). She was a contributing author/editor for the OMH National Stakeholder Strategy for Achieving Health Equity and was very instrumental in the establishment of 10 regional health equity councils across the country.

A native of Pottstown, PA, Christine received her B.A. in Health Sciences from Lincoln University (Lincoln University, PA) and a M.S. in Health Administration and in Health Education from Saint Joseph’s University (Philadelphia, PA). She is also a Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES). Christine relocated to Georgia in 2015 and lives in the Atlanta metro region with her husband and four children.